Contiguous
by TheUnluckyKat
Summary: "The events up till now have been contiguous." She says, "Right after the other everything has happened and it's all your fault." Two completely unrelated people, a vague "letter", a punch to the gut, a girl's crush on a friend and a fine print. Her goals are about as clear as they can be, but she needs some help, will it even go as planned? Probably not. {Kagami x OC}
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: The Letter**

* * *

The note had nice handwriting. That was the first thing Kagami noticed when he glanced down at the envelope neatly positioned on his desk—right in the middle too. His curiosity was piqued, to say the least, and he found himself staring at the beautiful strokes of calligraphy written neatly in the middle of the envelope's front.

'_To Whom it May Concern…' _Now Kagami was concerned. Who would send him a letter like this? It was menacing enough with just that written on the front of the pristine white envelope. Was he finally getting written up—or _suspended_—for all of those times he was late, or for all of the unfinished or missing homework he'd yet to do, or maybe it was his loudness or the fact that he couldn't go three sentences without cursing like a sailor—or _maybe_, he paled with realization—it was _all _of these reasons. He had been on his best behavior for a long while now—since their first Inter-High match even!—and he couldn't, under any circumstances, make a mistake that could lead to him being suspended from the team… or school. Especially since the Inter-high tournament's loss…

Kuroko's expression didn't change much, maybe a light sparkle in his blue eyes, as he watched Kagami stare intently at the letter, the red-head's expressions changing from horror to anger and then, finally, to worry. "Kagami-kun." He called softly, not really expecting to be heard. However, the bluenette's eyes widened in surprise when Kagami's head snapped up, looking around until his gaze settled on the familiar blank face of his shadow's, that same glaring gaze boring into Kuroko. "What's wrong?"

"Ah… I don't know yet." Kagami scratched the top of his head as he tried and failed to hide his surprise at Kuroko's sudden appearance, even if they had accompanied each other to lunch, which they were just returning from. Kagami brushed it off and went back to staring at the envelope with a gaze so heated, Kuroko was surprised it didn't burst into flames.

The envelope looked extremely important, as if it wasn't supposed to be ignored ever. "But I'm gonna find out now." Kagami concluded and with grace Kuroko didn't know the taller even possessed, Kagami lifted the back of the enveloped as it wasn't sealed all the way and pulled out the letter inside as if it was a fragile piece of glass.

"Parchment paper." Kuroko commented. From his tone, he was rather impressed. Kagami glanced at him, a little confused and Kuroko elaborated. "Parchment paper is a particular type of paper that's—well, just chalk it up to this letter being from a person with some power, which begs the question Kagami: what did you _do_?"

Kagami scowled, shooting a heated glare Kuroko's way. The bluenette didn't seem at all bothered by the stare as Kagami yelled, "I didn't do a _damn _thing!" His anger rose at Kuroko's easy accusation. Sure, Kagami wasn't an ideal student but he wasn't that bad! Not bad enough to get a letter from the principal or something, right…? He quieted slightly, looking around and trying to ignore the stares from those in the classroom.

"Maybe that's why you got the letter, because you _don't_ do anything." Kuroko quipped, his deadpan tone making Kagami even angrier. Had it been anyone else, he would've punched them right in the throat for accusing him so openly, but this was Kuroko—the guy didn't speak in a subtle way. "Go on," he urged, "Read it. I'm rather curious."

Kagami grumbled under his breath in anger—this was _Kagami's _letter (even if it was bad)! Why was Kuroko so interested?—but unfolded the paper with anticipation nonetheless. Was he getting expelled? Kagami wasn't a truant—why would he get a letter for missing homework or something? It made him scared to think of what it could say and what could happen as a result. As a person who did what he wanted when he wanted without ever worrying about the repercussions, consequences scared Kagami, especially now that everything he'd done—no matter how insignificant—came flooding back to him, even if half the stuff he was thinking about hadn't been done at school. The red-head shut his eyes tightly as he pulled open the letter, holding it away from himself as far as he could.

He didn't know exactly what he had been expecting when he opened it up—and Kuroko's comment of "It's a letter, not a bomb, Kagami-kun." Made him feel foolish enough to blush—but when he opened an eye to peek, all that his eye was met with was a few words—maybe less than fifteen—written in the middle of the paper. After that, he opened his other eye, a little relieved and disappointed. Kuroko, who stood slightly behind him, was trying to get a peek at it, "What does it say?" He settled on.

"U-Uh… j-just a time and a place…" He summarized, red eyes still intently staring at the paper. Confused, Kagami brought it closer and began scanning every inch of the paper for anything else, "That was a lot of build up for a time and a place… You see anything else?" Kagami handed the letter to Kuroko as he searched the envelope, coming up with nothing else.

"All that build up you did yourself." Kuroko commented, then looked down at the letter, reading it within seconds, "Behind the school," Kuroko read aloud, "It sounds like someone in this school has a confession for Kagami-kun." His tone was the same as it always was, thus Kagami couldn't tell if he was kidding or not.

"I wonder who would do something like this…" Kagami trailed, thoughtfully. He hadn't really seen any girls show an interest in him—but maybe he was wrong; after all, he only focused on basketball, food and more basketball and more food—and on more than rare occasions, video games. There was barely any room for schoolwork or anything else, so maybe…?

"My thoughts exactly." Said Kuroko, taking his seat, "Kagami-kun isn't that desirable from what I've heard and seen, I wonder what this person assumes is your selling point."

The unreadable tone combined with Kuroko's blank face made Kagami think that Kuroko was seriously trying to figure out why he had received such a thing. The red-head sputtered, blushing hotly in a mixture of embarrassment and anger as he tried and failed to think of something witty to say back. "Sh-Sh-Shut it!" He settled for, dropping down into his chair and covering his face in his hands. He shook his head a few times, trying to clear his head and calm himself. He couldn't freak-out now. He might _actually_ receive a suspension letter for breaking something.

Kagami would have said something more had it not been for the bell ringing loudly and the large throng of students pouring into the mostly empty classroom and dwarfing anything either could have said. He accepted this with a scowl, the color draining from his face slowly as it returned to normal.

Kagami turned around, dropping his head down on the desk. He couldn't help but feel anxious. What if it was a teacher who just didn't want to embarrass him by talking to him during school hours or something? What if it was an ambush? The anxiety Kagami had made a home for itself in the pit of his stomach where it would stay until he met with this person after practice.

The letter fluttered onto his desk and Kagami stared at it, then angrily stuffed it into his desk, muttering _"Outta sight, outta mind." _in English.

* * *

Sometime after class, Kagami and Kuroko were in the locker room, changing. All of the previous worries from the school day were gone when he slipped on the practice jersey, adjusting it to fit his body correctly. The locker-room was abuzz with talk of the school day and Kagami found himself rather quiet. The first, besides Kuroko of course, to notice was Hyūga. The captain walked up, slapping the taller male on the back and momentarily frightening him.

"_Kagami!_ What's wrong with you?" He asked loudly, pushing up his glasses slightly, "You're usually the loudest in here!" All conversation seemed to quiet or fully stop as most, if not all, of the occupants of the locker room turned to look at the man in question.

"O-Oh…uh…" Kagami began, looking around the locker-room, "It-It's nothing important."

"Really?" Kiyoshi stepped up, "If it wasn't then you wouldn't be lookin' like you're sulkin', huh?" He smiled, "C'mon, tell us." Kiyoshi pulls Kagami into a headlock to which the red-head responds by yelling and trying to get out of. Kuroko coughs rather loudly, all attention drawn to the sound and Hyuuga jumps slightly, taking an involuntary step back.

"Kagami-kun received a love letter today during lunch." Kuroko informed them. Kiyoshi easily let go of Kagami, who glared at the older who just responds with a dazzling smile as the usual.

"Oh, so that's it?" Hyuuga frowned, "I thought it would be something more important."

"Do you know who she is?" Koganei asked, "I bet she's real cute, huh?"

"No!" Kagami responded, "I don't know who it is—that stupid paper only gave a place and a time. That's not a love letter if you ask me."

"Ooh~!" Kiyoshi sang, "Mysterious, huh? Maybe she's one of those _'I-wanna-tell-you-in-person-types'. _It means she's brave."

"Mitobe says: Well are you going to meet her?" Koganei informed, to which the quiet boy nodded, "_I_ think you should at least find out who it is."

"Maybe she'll be able to tame the _Taiga _in you!" Izuki pitched in, patting himself on the back for the pun. The blank stares the others gave him didn't deter him in the slightest.

"….that was bad and you should feel bad too." Kagami responded in a deadpan, "But, I guess I could go see what this was all about. There's gotta be some kinda mistake or somethin'."

"That's true," Hyuuga said, a little surprised at how level Kagami was being, "Who would like you anyway? This girl has to be crazy!" Kagami popped a vein, glaring at Hyuuga as he muttered spiteful words towards his captain.

"That's what I told him earlier." Kuroko spoke once more, yet it didn't come as much of a surprise this time. Kagami began yelling once more and Kiyoshi laughed, these guys were so lively!

"Boys!" Riko banged on the door to the locker-room, cutting off anything anyone else wanted to say, "Hurry up or I'll make the practice double!—No, I'll do that anyway! Hurry or it'll be _triple_!" Though nobody groaned outwardly, they all shared looks that could be akin to horror. All talk of the love letter was left in the locker-room as their game faces went on, and they went to practice.

* * *

All of the work would be completed just a few minutes before the designated time, that much she knew. It wasn't like the work was hard, it was just tedious and her excitement and nerves were making it hard for her to hold the pen correctly. To anyone but her, the handwriting would look elegant, but it looked like utter crap in her eyes. She wanted to start again, but it would be a waste of paper and time, so she stuck to it, still a little peeved. Not too far from being a perfectionist, she hated when her handwriting was sloppy, especially on important documents like this.

"You can leave the rest for Riko-san, you know." Yamada, the president, said, smiling lightly at her. She looked up, a blank look ever-present on her face, "U-Uh, Saiki-chan, you don't have to finish all of it by yourself. You do know that there _is_ another VP, right?"

"I am aware, but…" Saiki puts down the pen for a moment, "I wouldn't want her to overwork due to being the basketball club's coach. She already has a lot to handle dealing with those boys and… I don't mind." She looked down at the work, "I need to keep busy until six anyway."

Yamada wasn't surprised by her answer. He only smiled softly, ruffling the girl's hair, much to her disdain, yet she did nothing to stop him, only fixing the large puce colored bow on the top of her head. "Right, well take care then. I'm leaving early today—I've gotta get to the drama club."

Saiki nodded, and with her monotone voice responded, "Alright, good job. Take care." It didn't sound very personal, but Yamada knew she meant well—he could feel that tiny bit of feeling she couldn't display well—and waved once more, smiling before he left the girl alone in the office.

After she heard the click and fading footsteps, she sighed, leaning back in the chair and loosening her tie. Wearing the formal uniform sure was tiring, but it was to be expected of someone in the student council. The only one on the council that didn't wear the formal uniform was Riko, but Saiki assumed it was alright, after all, she had to move around a lot more than they did.

Saiki stood from the desk, removing the jacket as she went along. The brunette dropped it on the chair, moving around to the stacks of papers, random posters and misplaced chairs and things to get to the closet, "We should really clean in here…" She mumbled, pulling open the door. The extra female sweaters were in that closet and the brunette pulled one off of the rack and slipped it over her torso. It fit rather nicely and she hummed a small tune, closing it and returning to her work.

Maybe if she finished a little earlier, she could work out what to say more precisely. She began writing again, looking from paper to paper, and catching sight of a name she'd seen too often. "Ah… _Kagami_." She said with a strange hint of bitterness to her placid tone, "You're infamous for your huge folder of write-ups…" She cast a glance towards the folder which lay on the table not too far from her. It was the easily largest file over there and luckily, they'd managed to put it off for as long as they could during the Inter-High tournament. But now, it had to be dealt with. "Good thing I delivered your letter of probationary action during lunch…"

* * *

It was finally the time. Kagami gulped as Kiyoshi urged him on, pushing the boy towards the door. The others shouted their own form of_ Good Luck_ and Kagami growled, "I don't need luck! _Nothin's_ gonna happen!" With that said, he left the gym, slamming the doors as he went. He didn't have time for this, dammit!

"What's _that_ all about?" Riko asked, her gaze falling on Hyuuga.

"Oh, Kagami's just gonna get some girl's affections." Kiyoshi said as if it was obvious. "I wanted to watch but Hyuuga wants me to walk him home!" To emphasize his point, Kiyoshi grabbed Hyuuga, pulling him close, the smile never leaving his face.

"I do _not_!" Hyuuga broke the hold, crossing his arms, "I didn't say _anything _like that!"

"Ah, but you didn't have to!" Kiyoshi said, "Haha~!" Hyuuga would've hit the boy, but at this point, he was much too embarrassed to after hearing the snickers of the others.

"Kagami will surely tell us what happened tomorrow." Kuroko spoke up from beside Riko, "He's not a secret keeper—well, not a good one."

"_K-Kuroko_!" Riko screamed, "Don't do that, idiot!" A loud slap was heard and nobody could say that Kuroko didn't or did deserve it.

"C'mon, Jun~ I'll walk you home!" Kiyoshi beamed, grabbing the shooter's hand.

"Kiyoshi stop!" And another loud sound rung out in the gym as the others left, some were grimacing and others were still snickering.

"What...? I'm just being friendly!"

* * *

Kagami stood behind the school, leaning up against the wall, glaring at positively anything that went his way. Stupid leaves, stupid wall... stupid... _stupid! _Just who the hell _was _this girl—or _person_? Kagami pulled the letter out of his pocket. It was crumpled, as things tend to get in pockets, but this was beyond wrinkly. He looked at it, not even bothering to smoothen it out. He already knew everything on it, but looking at it brought him comfort.

"When is this chick gonna come? Or was this a prank of some sort?" Kagami growled underneath his breath, anger rising. Was he being stood up?

"Kiyoshi-san!" Someone called. Kagami didn't bother looking up, but every so often, the call would get closer and finally, the person who was shouting his senpai's name was standing right in front of him, "I-I'm glad you made it..." Kagami looked up, eyes wide.

"Yeah, well I just came to tell you that I'm-" She looked up, her eyes wide as she took in his appearance.

"Not Kiyoshi-san!" She pointed at him, "Wha-Where is he? D-Did he send you in his place?" Kagami raised his hands in mock surrender. She sure was demanding, "Answer me! Or I'll have to hurt you!"

Kagami scowled, glaring at the girl, "Hurt me? Yeah _right_! I'd like to see you-_Ow_! What the fuck?!" Kagami wheezed as he felt something lodge itself into his stomach. He doubled over in pain and wrapped his arms around his stomach area as he dropped to the ground, hitting it with a dull thump.

"Wh-Why would he send _you_?" Her voice cracked as she fell to her knees, "Di-Did he not get my letter?"

"L-Letter?" He choked out, trying to regain his breath. She really knocked the wind out of him. "Y-You mean that piece of paper... with the time and place on it?"

"Y-Yes!" She said, "How do _you _know about that?" Kagami took a few minutes to get his bearings back and sat up. The girl in front of him looked innocent enough and not like she could throw a punch like that, but he knew people didn't always look strong even if they were, or at least, he should.

"Because it was left on my desk..." For emphasis, Kagami grabbed the paper, which had fallen on the ground near him and showed her, "I got this after I came from lunch."

"Wh-What!" She gaped, "N-No way!"

"Yeah way, so explain yourself, girly!" He was already getting annoyed with her and yet, she didn't even seem to notice. She'd gone quiet for a moment and Kagami contemplated getting up and leaving her there.

"I… I guess I have no choice... Okay then," She stood, dusting herself off, "Follow me." And walked away, leaving Kagami no choice but to follow her.

* * *

The two were seated opposite each other in Kagami's favorite eatery—Maiji Burger. Saiki was casually chewing on a fry while Kagami shoveled burgers into his mouth as if they were expiring in the next hour. Saiki couldn't help but have her gaze travel back to him. He paused for a moment. "What?" He questioned, gulping down a large quantity of the burgers.

He couldn't exactly tell what she was thinking—her blank look was almost on par with Kuroko's. And it was still a little awkward from what happened earlier, he could feel it. "I'm… sorry for punching you like that…" Her face showed no signs of sympathy—but then again, it didn't show that she wasn't, and neither did her tone for that matter. Kagami felt like he did when Kuroko spoke, as if he would always be guessing the boy's real feelings and motives. "I was just… _surprised_."

"Yeah, you sure surprised the breath outta me with a gut punch like that." Kagami burped, slurping at his soda. Saiki frowned in disgust but didn't say anything else, "So… that letter was for Kiyoshi?" It was best to address the matter at hand now, besides, it would get late soon and he didn't want her walking home alone in the dark depending on the direction she went.

She sighed, having hoped for him to have forgotten about that, but she knew it was too good to be true. Kagami was stupid, that much she knew, but he wasn't a complete idiot. "Yes…" Saiki responded quietly, "I… I m-must've mixed them up when I was delivering the letters… In that pile was supposed to be your p-probationary letter… You're both K.T., so…" She trailed, looking off to the side, "A-Anyway, it was a mistake, so if you'll kindly forget about it-!"

"Wait." Kagami stopped his eating once more and stared at her, "How can I just _forget_ it? You punched me in the gut and accused me. And then took me out to eat without having _any_ money- I bought you your _food!_-and gave me a half-assed apology?" Kagami could feel his anger rising inside him, "You're not off the hook that easy, Megane-bimbo. Gimme somethin' I want. A payment for all this trouble."

Usually Kagami would be one to let something like this go, after all she was just a naive girl in love with his senpai, but she punched him _and _he had to buy food for her-well he didn't _have _to... _and _it was only fries, but he bought it nonetheless!

"Like what?" Saiki responded. He proved a good point, though she wouldn't admit it. Her analytical gaze stayed on the giant and for some reason, it made him nervous.

"I-I dunno… somethin'..." He trailed, looking around. Nothing seemed to catch his interest until he noticed the arm band pinned to her sweater's sleeve, "Student council." He mumbled, repeating it at least three more times and each time he would get more excited, a face-splitting lopsided grin was now on his face and Saiki shied away, "I've got it!" Kagami yelled, beaming. "In exchange for my silence, erase my school records-the bad parts I mean."

Saiki's eyes widened, before she returned to her blank mask. "No way." She shook her head firmly, "That's too big a thing for all that you've accumulated in your file." She replied, "To erase it all, you'd have to do something big for me too… I don't know; help me win the affections of Kiyoshi-san?" Joking, Saiki had been joking, but because of her straight face, Kagami seemed to seriously consider this.

"Is that all?" Kagami had responded with after a few minutes of silence from both parties.

"Wh-What?" Saiki stuttered, Kagami looked at her, his expression dulling a bit.

"I said 'Is that all?' I mean, if all you want me to do is help you get with him... Well I think I can do it." In all honesty, he knew it was probably futile. That idiot was too infatuated with Hyūga, but Kagami would try to curb out this girl's affections so she wouldn't get hurt, somehow and in the end, his bad records would be gone.

"A-A well... Yes!" She nodded feverishly. "B-But you've gotta sign a contract..."

"Alright... Uh, bring it to me tomorrow or something." Kagami stood, coughing slightly, "I'll sign it then."

"Ah..." She stood up too, grabbing at his sleeve. Kagami looked back at her, his gaze one of confusion and slowly, her head lifted and he could see faint traces of a blush on her tan-cheeks.

Then, with more expression that he had assumed she had, she formed a smile of her own, closing her eyes just slightly as she said, "Thank you."

Kagami frowned a little, looking away and scratching his head, "Ah, whatever... I'm only doing it for the school records! Besides, I haven't done anything yet!"

"Right!" She replied, nodding, "So tomorrow!"

And on his way home, Kagami would never admit that he blushed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: You're Gonna Help Me Whether You Want to or Not!**

* * *

She hadn't come during class at all. Kagami was wondering if she'd given up. It wouldn't be hard to think that, she didn't look like the type to pursue someone so determinedly. Then again, Kagami wouldn't take her as one to throw a punch like that. His thoughts were on this girl as he left the locker-room and... His eyes widened, he hadn't even learned her name! "Whatever, she probably forgot..." Kagami mumbled. He wasn't the slightest bit mad—if anything, he was relieved.

She just proved to be a minor distraction and now, he could properly and openly focus on basketball. "Kagami-kun." Kuroko pinched the taller. Kagami glared at him, grunting in pain as the shorter boy continued walking as if he hadn't done anything, "And what of the girl from yesterday? Did you meet her?"

"Hm?" Kagami scowled, "Oh yeah, I met her alright."

"Oh really? What happened? Did you fall in _love?"_ Kiyoshi laughed. They all seemed to really be getting a kick out of this. Kagami couldn't say that he felt the same way, if anything, he was a little angrier at his team for picking on him like this.

"No! She punched me in the gut!" Kagami yelled back, crossing his arms, "But it doesn't matter. I don't wanna talk about it anymore." The red-head speed walked away from the group, though he could hear them laughing at him, "Asshole teammates..." He mumbled, pushing open the doors to the gym.

Standing there with the coach was the same girl as yesterday. Kagami pointed an accusing finger at her, sputtering in disbelief; however, she didn't notice him at all, instead talking with Riko, who seemed genuinely interested in what she was saying.

"...Is that right?" Riko shot a glare at Kagami, who froze, wondering what he did wrong, "Bakagami, bring your ass over here _now!_" Shaking slightly, Kagami slowly made his way across the court, all conversation dead upon entrance of the gym.

"Y-Yes, coach...?" He feigned innocence. He could tell from the aura of the second-year that it wouldn't work on her.

"I heard from Saiki-chan that you're slacking in class!" She yelled, "And you're on _probation!_ What the hell is this?! Didn't we say that if you needed help, you could come to one of us?!" Kagami glared at the short girl who only seemed to stare past him, a blank expression on her face.

"Rida-san." Saiki spoke up, "It's not a problem—well, not a _big _one—_if_ Kagami Taiga can cut his practice by maybe twenty or so minutes, then I will be able to tutor him for the amount of time he needs."

"_Y-You'll _tutor him?" Riko asked, looking from the brunette to the giant in front of them. Saiki nodded as she put that analytical gaze on Kagami once more. He shook only slightly under her gaze.

"Yes, but before you begin, may I please speak to him... in _private_?" Saiki requested.

Riko nodded, waving them away. She didn't even think to question the girl; the older brunette knew that Saiki was good enough to be trusted. "Yeah, sure, but don't make it too long." Saiki nodded, grabbing Kagami by the wrist and pulling him out of the gym doors leading to the courtyard and track. Kagami could feel the eyes of the others on them as they moved out of view and he could also hear Riko yelling at them, but he wasn't really sure what she was saying.

The coach could've been angry they moved out of sight or angry they (the rest of the team) were trying to get in on Kagami's personal business instead of practicing. Either way, he was sure she'd be mad once he returned to the gym for practice. He looked back to Saiki. Her expression was just as blank as it had been back in the gym, giving Kagami no indication of what she was going to say or do.

Now he was getting a little nervous. Of course, it was only warranted by the fact that coach was mad at him for a lie—well, not really a lie—but a _not-truth_ she was told by the stoic girl in front of him, who the coach may or may not trust more than Kagami himself.

"Alright, we're alone... spit it out." Kagami crossed his arms, as if guarding himself from her.

Saiki only nods, spitting out the gum she was chewing onto the ground, "It's not very safe or hygienic, but you asked me to do so. Was it bothering you?" She responds, looking down at the large wad of pink-green gum. Kagami sputters, his finger going from her to the gum on the ground and back again countless times.

"Wh-Wh-W-W-_What?!"_ Kagami yelped, "I-I meant t-tell me what you had to _say! _Not spit out your gum! I didn't even _know_ you were chewing gum!"

"Oh... well that would make more sense, I suppose..." Saiki tapped her chin in thought, "Well it's happened already, so there's no going back." She pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper from her pocket, "In any case, I have the document in question." She then pulls out a pen, "If you'd sign it, we'd be in business."

"Ah, I thought you'd forgotten." Kagami admitted, rubbing the back of his head. He had hoped she'd forgotten. The nice promise of erased bad records or not, he didn't think she was the type of person he'd want to associate with on a daily basis. There was just something about her that made him a little weary.

She doesn't say anything in response and instead passes the pen and paper over to Kagami, who frowns, looking it over once. "There's not much on here… you're a straight-to-the-point type of person, aren't you?" Kagami comments, looking back at the girl.

"There's no point in using flowery words or giving a long-winded response when it isn't needed. We have both stated what we want and agreed on it, I merely wanted physical representation so that neither you nor I would be able to go back on our agreement. I will sign it as well." Saiki responded matter-of-factly.

"Right…" Kagami murmured, looking back down at the paper. It was the same type of paper as the letter she'd sent before, but this time, it looked much, much neater than the other one. Carefully, Kagami studied every bit of the paper when he finally realized something. "Hey… this is in English!"

"You're from America, aren't you?" Saiki questioned, to which Kagami nodded, "I thought it would be easier for you to read, considering it's what you've learned for a long while, correct? And in any case, I wouldn't want anyone figuring out what we're signing. Nobody here is extremely skilled in reading out full sentences in English anyway. Not even the English teachers, though that's what they claim. Besides, English is easier for me anyway. Isn't it the same for you?"

Kagami grunted and nodded slightly, sliding down the wall into a sitting position and staring at the paper once more. The English made it so much easier for him to read. "_This document hereby claims that _Kagami Taiga_ and _Saiki Kylie _shall enter a mutual partnership. On _Kagami Taiga's _end of the deal, _Kagami Taiga _shall help _Saiki Kylie _win the affections of _Kiyoshi Teppei. _On _Saiki Kylie's _end of the deal, _Saiki Kylie _shall erase as much of _Kagami Taiga's _bad records as she can." _Kagami recited in English. It was pretty simple; no beating around the bush and those three lines only took up a small amount of space on the top of the page. _'So her name's Saiki, huh?' _

The name didn't seem to fit her. She looked much more foreign than the name allowed. The surname was officially Japanese, but the first name? That was decidedly English—American if anything. She might've been a half-breed. Kagami shook the thoughts from his mind and looked at her, catching sight of the weird bow on her head. _'It's official, girls are strange...'_

He nonetheless nodded, his attention drawn back to the paper. His red-ish eyes travelled down to the two blank lines, forgoing reading the small print at the bottom. "Well everything seems fine." He mumbled, turning around so that he could press the paper against the wall.

In his best handwriting—and that was just a little bit nicer than his normal sloppy chicken-scratch—he wrote his name on the line. "There, I signed it." He said, handing the paper to Saiki. She judged it with that blank gaze of hers and before he could ask if something was wrong, she looked up, staring at him.

"And now I will sign it too." Saiki said, squatting so that she could rest the paper on her knee. Quickly, she signed the paper and held it out for Kagami to see. In neat cursive was her name. Kagami, who was unsure of what to do next, chose to nod at her. This seemed to be what she was expecting, as Saiki shot up into a standing position abruptly, folding the paper once more and pocketing it.

"Well… if that's all…" He really needed to get back to practice. He was sure Riko was making everybody do warm-ups until he got back. He could almost feel their anger towards him for taking so long radiating through the walls and doors of the gym.

"One more thing." Saiki said, stopping him. Kagami looked down at her, scowling slightly. Didn't she know he had to go? "Maiji Burger… meet me in the park near Maiji Burger after practice, alright?"

"What? Why so soon?" Kagami asked, scratching his head.

"Because, we have to plan our attack strategy now." She said, a gleam in her eyes, "We can't just sit around waiting. We have to go on the attack! The sooner we do, the sooner your bad records are gone and the probation is over."

She turned and with a small wave, walked away from him. Kagami sighed; girls were crazy, weren't they? Especially that one. Doing all this for Kiyoshi… he wasn't even that desirable. What was there to like about him anyway? The red-head shrugged, shaking the thoughts off and heading back into the gym.

"Hey!" Riko pointed at Kagami, "What took you so long, idiot?!"

"Ah… she had a lot more to say than I thought…" Well, it wasn't completely a lie. "How far behind am I?"

"About ten minutes! Go run five laps around town!" Riko ordered, making kicking motions and waving her arms wildly at him. "And take Mitobe and Furihata with you! They need more running too!"

Kagami sighed, he knew he'd be in for more hell once he returned from his run, and it was all because of that girl. Why was she so adamant about dating Kiyoshi anyway? An even bigger question, Kagami thought, was _why did he even agree? _She gave him the chance yesterday to just completely forget about the whole thing and continue on with his life, training for the Winter Cup and yet, he signed that stupid contract and was going to meet her in the park later.

He should be focused completely on basketball! That was his main love!—scratch that, his _only_ love! He blamed it on hormones… and the fact that he didn't mind helping out a pretty girl if it meant something worthwhile was in it for him and it was. Kagami ran a little bit faster, trying not to get excited. His bad records—all of them, down to the last late slip—would be gone.

The thought made him smile. "Ka-Kagami-kun!" The red-head was surprised that Furihata still had enough energy to tack on that 'kun' honorific after his name, "S-Slow down! Mitobe-san and I…" Kagami turns his head slightly to look at the panting boy. They'd only done 1½ laps around the neighborhood. Kagami himself wasn't too tired, but then again, he was running a little bit too fast for them and they had worked out prior to the run, so Kagami could understand.

He dropped into a light jog, allowing for Furihata and Mitobe to catch up to him with ease. The quiet second-year gave Kagami a soft smile and Furihata managed to pant out a thank you. "So…" Here it comes, "What did that girl want with you?" Kagami knew something was up when Furihata took a moment too long to come outside. They'd pushed the smaller boy into asking what she wanted with Kagami.

He knew it must've looked suspicious for a 6'3" mammoth of an angry-looking boy to be dragged around by a 5'2" stoic, by-the-book-looking girl.

"She… uh…" Kagami scratched at his cheek once more. He wasn't a good liar, but then again, what could he say that would be believable? That wouldn't lead them to be suspicious of him, "O-Oh! Yeah, she just wanted to run a studying schedule by me—and, uh, decide on a place to study… yeah, that's it."

Furihata nodded, accepting this as he focused his attention more on running. Kagami cast a glance at Mitobe who gave him a knowing smile. The taller teen would've said something had Mitobe not looked ahead; seemingly ignoring anything that Kagami would've tried to say. _'It's not like he knows what's going on anyway...' _Kagami assured himself and scowled harshly, shaking his head and continuing at the pace. They'd be done soon enough, then they could start the real practice and Kagami could forget about that chick until later.

* * *

The stack had been bothering them for a long while. Yamada stared at it, occasionally sighing dramatically and changing his position in the chair. Takahashi rolled around on the floor, groaning and Takahama was resting against Saiki's desk, running a hand through her light brown hair out of annoyance. "Yamada, no matter how often you sigh, it's not going to go away, so stop! You're giving me a headache!" Takahama grunted, looking at the president.

He sighed once more, leaning back in his chair and staring at the two girls.

"Takahama~!" He whined, swinging his arms wildly, "I want Kagami Taiga's file to _disappear!"_

"Burn it!" Takahashi sat up, a crazed look in his eyes, "Burn it and every other file—and the _entire school_ to the ground!" He laughed maniacally and continued rolling around on the floor.

"…And you wonder why there are only _five _members in the student council and why _no_ girls want to go out with you." Saiki spoke, her tone never adding a hint of malice or humor. It was completely expressionless, as the usual.

When the room went quiet for a moment, Saiki took the opportunity to fix her bow—which was shaped and colored like the wing a glass-winged butterfly that day. Yamada looked from the girl fixing her bow to the dyed red-head rolling around on the floor, this time in agony of the truth being presented to him, then to Takahama, the girl playing with her skirt. This was a little bit of a weird student council.

"Right… well, Saiki you said you were taking action, didn't you?" Yamada changed the subject as best he could, "Mind clueing us in?" Takahama stopped her fidgeting and Takahashi stopped rolling around, both of pairs of brown eyes on the darker-skinned girl seated behind the desk.

Under the scrutiny and in the loud quiet of the room, Saiki gulped almost unnoticed. A blush of embarrassment faintly dusting her cheeks just a smidgen below barely noticeable. She hated having all of the attention on her. "N-Not until it's done." Saiki nodded firmly, "But I will tell you that I'm going to erase most—if not all of that file of Kagami Taiga's."

"And how will you do that without burning it and making it seem like an accident?" Takahashi deadpanned a dull look in his eyes, "Remember that _good deeds project_ we tried with those delinquents a few months back? If you're trying that, you'll end up putting a foot up his ass like you did those kids. That was _boring_."

"Yeah I'll say!" Takahama agreed, "I mean, you got to do all the dirty work… _and_ have all the fun!" Yamada sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. What was he going to do with these people? Was this really all he could find for the student council—used-to-be Yankees and wannabe Yankees? Riko was his only haven, she was perfect. He sighed, willing the basketball practice to go by faster.

"It was by no means 'fun', Satohama-san, Takesode." Saiki responded, her fingers drumming at the hardwood of the desk, "It was tiresome and they ended up transferring three weeks ago to that all-boys school anyway. Nothing good comes of violence."

"Mm, Saiki-chan's right, so put away that lighter, _Kosode_!" Yamada yelled, tossing a pencil with aimed precision at the other boy. The lighter dropped from Takahashi's hand as the red-head yelped, cradling the appendage and sending glares Yamada's way. The black-haired boy didn't seem to mind at all, having gone back to his moping.

"Maybe you shouldn't be playing with your lighter in school~! You know how Yamada gets about that, Ko-so-_de_!" Takahama snickered, "'s why I love using my boxing skills to fight! It's a weapon I've always got with me and I don't even gotta think about it." Everyone in the room could tell she was bragging, and while Yamada seemed used to it, Takahashi wasn't in the mood to hear about it. He picked up the pencil Yamada threw at him and chucked it at an unsuspecting Takahama.

The pencil hit her right in the gut with enough force for her to feel it. "_Urk_!" She grunted in slight pain, eyes wide. Takahashi snickered before it turned into full-on laughter.

"Y-You—y' needa see yer face!" He laughed out, rolling away.

"I-I'll kill you, Takahashi!" Takahama stood up, only to be pushed right back into her seat. Saiki stood up, walking around the desk.

"_Takesode…_" She murmured her tone seemingly dark to the laughing boy. He stops laughing for a moment, brushing a tear away from his eye just in time to see Saiki's raised foot come down on him like a hammer, creating a loud thudding sound of fleshing coming in contact with shoe. "What if that hit _me_ instead?!"

Even though the gym was down the corridor and around the corner, Riko swore she could hear a familiar screeching sound. She frowned, looking around. Nobody was screaming, sure they were yelling, but it wasn't full-out I'm-in-pain screaming. "I wonder what's happening out there…" She murmured, turning her attention back to the training match. "C'mon! I wanna see you sweat even more! Work _harder!"_

* * *

Kuroko had long since left Kagami—though Kagami wasn't sure _when_—alone in Maiji Burger. The tall red-head was currently trying to shovel all of the remaining burgers on his tray into his mouth in order to go to that meeting with the Saiki girl. His anxiety made him purchase two times the amount of burgers he normally would and that made him take a little bit more time in the fast-food joint than he wanted.

"Stupid Megane-bimbo…" He mumbled, not even stopping for air as he finished off his last two burgers. His loud belch attracted stares, but Kagami was in no mood to care and instead, dumped the tray and left it on the stack as he exited the fast-food place.

The air was still a little warm, even though it almost nighttime and Kagami liked that. Japan was much too cold most of the year, that left him longing to go back to America—specifically L.A. He loved the heat.

Kagami shivered, trying to get his mind back on track. He had to deal with that Saiki chick now. He could only wonder what she had planned for them to do to get Kiyoshi to like Saiki. Every time he thought about it, his mind drew a blank. He couldn't think of a single thing as to what his senpai likes in a girl or what he actually likes—or even how to… dare he say it? _Woo_ the older boy. Kagami shivered, that just sounded a _little_ too creepy.

He continued on his journey, only breaking for the stop light and found himself in the park, looking around. Sure, Saiki was short, but she wasn't short _and_ unnoticeable like Kuroko was. "Kagami Taiga." She said in what Kagami had come to learn was her only and normal tone. He looked to his left and there she was, sitting on a bench, digging the toe of her boots into the dirt, "I'm glad you didn't forget."

"Yeah, well…" Kagami didn't actually have anything ready to say to her and instead grunted, "So why'd you wanna meet like this? Can't we do this during school? I'm tired after practice…"

"This is the perfect time!" Saiki said with more emotion than Kagami was ready for. She stood up, walking towards him and grabbing a fistful of his undershirt and pulling him down to eye level, "Don't you see, Kagami Taiga? Nighttime is the best time for planning!" She let him go, twirling around and heading back to the bench.

"Right… well can we make this meeting quick? I kinda wanna go home…" Kagami rubbed the back of his head. She was already irritating.

"Of course, I'll indulge my lackey just this once." Saiki nodded, "Think of it as a freebie. Every time you ask me for something after this, you'll owe me even more."

"Wh-Wha? _Owe_ you?!" Kagami spit back at her, flabbergasted, "What do you mean I'll _'owe you'_? This is mutual, remember?!"

"Ah-ah…" She practically sang, smirking. Now Kagami was a little afraid, "I guess someone didn't read the fine print!"

"F-Fine print?" Kagami repeated, staring at her dumbfounded. Saiki nodded, withdrawing the paper from her pocket and stepping closer.

"Yes, Kagami Taiga. Fine print." She held it up, pointing at the small writing underneath their signatures. "It says _Kagami Taiga is to belong to Saiki Kylie until the mission is successful. _So in other words, you're my _slave_, Kagami Taiga."

"Wh-What? No! I didn't agree to this!" He reached out and managed to snatch the paper back from Saiki. He tore it in half, "No deal! No way am I being someone's slave! Good luck with senpai, however." He turned, tossing a wave at her.

"Ah, it's not so simple, Kagami Taiga." Saiki's voice rang out, he could hear the evil tint in her tone, "See, I knew something like this would happen… so I… made _copies_!" Kagami turned around, eyes wide.

"No… you _didn't_." Kagami's eyes widened. He took a step back, frowning at her.

"_Yes_… I did." She smirked, pulling out another from her pocket, "And plus, I'm not one for dirty underhanded tricks… but I can pull out a few if I really need to, Kagami Taiga. Remember, I'm the student council's VP. I have power and can get away with things…" She pointed at him, that smug smirk still firmly planted on her face, "So, you're going to help me whether you want to or not!"

"Oh god…" Kagami moaned, smacking himself on the forehead and running that hand down his face. _'What have I gotten into now…?'_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three:**

* * *

She didn't reveal much about herself or her plan that night. Kagami thought back to the strange girl as he and Kuroko sat in Maiji Burger after practice a few days later. She was a little bit different than she appeared. After knowing her for about a week or less, he could safely say that she was just a little bit crazy. First off, she seemed to have two personalities and that confused him to no end.

When she was with him, she seemed much more open about her feelings and the way she acted and even though it was subtle—_extremely_ subtle, Kagami might add—it was just enough for Kagami to pick up on the change—especially considering who he hung out with in his free time. Then when they were around others—like when she came to the gym on occasion or when she ignored him in the hall earlier today—she seemed a lot more reserved, almost taking after Kuroko and not showing any emotions. Her tone was always level and her face even. Kagami looked over at Kuroko, studying the boy's face. They both seemed alike in the way that they confused him with their actions and that frustrated Kagami.

He regrets saying yes and signing that paper, especially because of that damn fine print. How could he have not seen it? He looked over the entire paper! And yet, there was a piece he missed. How could he have been so stupid? "Kagami-kun." Kuroko's call broke through Kagami's thoughts. The boy looked up, staring at Kuroko. "You're eating the wrapping." Kuroko told him, pointing at the paper that was currently hanging from Kagami's mouth.

It took a few seconds for Kagami to realize what Kuroko was talking about, and when he did, the taller boy yanked the paper from his mouth and spit out the rest, grabbing at Kuroko's milkshake and slurping it down, trying to rid himself of the taste. He then coughed and hacked loudly, patting himself on the chest, "W-Why didn't you tell me earlier?!" Kagami yelled, glaring at Kuroko.

"I thought you did that sort of thing." Kuroko replied, "But then I saw that you weren't even paying attention... is the tutoring not going well?" He seemed concerned in his own way, but that was probably because if Kagami's grades didn't pick themselves up soon, he would be kicked off the team.

'_That's right... they think I'm being tutored by that Megane-bimbo...' _Kagami realized. He then shook his head, giving a sheepish smile and rubbing the back of his head, "Ah... we just started and I don't really know what's going on, so... I guess it's not...?" The answer seemed to be enough for Kuroko and he stood up, looking at Kagami one last time before picking up his milkshake cup. He shook it a few times before frowning at the cup.

"I'm going to throw this out and when I get back, you owe me another milkshake." Kuroko told him, walking away. Kagami growled, looking down at his empty tray. Only the wrappers and empty sauce packets remained and he felt angry. Out of food and in a bad situation, Kagami felt at odds with himself. There was _no_ way he was going to go back up there again. He had to get to the park soon and there was no way he could avoid that girl... well, he'd never tried.

Kuroko returned shortly after Kagami came to this realization. The powder blue-haired boy gaze Kagami a questioning look but didn't say anything more and the red-head stood, tray in hand. "How about tomorrow?" Kagami spoke, "I gotta, uh, get going to... _tutoring_..."

"Ah, right." Kuroko said, glancing out the window, "And she's waiting for you outside too."

"What...?" Kagami looked around. Kuroko pointed at the girl lightly tapping on the window, her face almost as stoic as Kuroko's. "Wh-What are you doing, Megane-bimbo?!" He yelled, "I-I'll see you later, Kuroko!"

Kagami grabbed his backpack and dropped the tray, sprinting out of the door and towards the girl. Kuroko sighed and watched Kagami as he pulled the girl away from the window and down the street. "Why is he in such a rush... she's been standing there the whole time..."

* * *

"So what exactly is it that you like so much about senpai?" Kagami only thought it was right to ask. After all, he needed to figure this out. It was all a little confusing, especially when feelings of others were put into the mix.

After a few minutes, Kagami looks up. They're both sitting on the swings. She's just sitting there, hands in her lap, twisting and turning them, not even looking up and Kagami is lazily swinging back and forth. He's too tall for the swing—and squatting because of it—and even if he wanted to actually swing, his feet would still end up touching the ground, so he settles for this motion.

"A-Ah... um..." She begins, looking over at Kagami for a moment, "Tha-That is to say..."

"Say what?" Kagami replies, his voice gruff, "C'mon, spit it out—and I mean what you have to say, not your gum if you have any!" She's much too literal for Kagami and he doesn't think he can take much more of her weird silences.

"W-Well he saved me once! A-And he's just so nice..." Her smile is small and the look on her face is far-off, the redhead could go as far as saying she looked a little dreamy, too. "And he looks s-so trustworthy… I-I can tell he's a really good person…"

Kagami nodded at her answer, a little surprised she was so straight-forward, but then again, look who he was talking to. Of course, he could see how Kiyoshi was all of those things. He might've been a little goofy at first, but Kagami could tell straight away that he was a good person, it was a wonder all the girls only went after Izuki when Kiyoshi was just as good.

"So… do you… I dunno, have a plan that I'm supposed to be helping you with? After all, I'm only in this for that record." Kagami cut to the chase. There was no point in beating around the bush, after all, that was his reasoning for even continuing contact with the girl.

"R-Right!" She replied, her gaze turning to one of determination, "Um… I don't really have a plan."

"What?!" Kagami yelled, standing up, "What do you mean you don't have a plan? I thought that you had a plan! Why am I helping you if you don't know how to help yourself? _Megane-bimbo!"_

"Stop calling me names, _Bakagami!"_ She replied, standing up as well, "You're the slave, you think of the plan!"

"Why do _I_ have to? You're the _real_ idiot! You like someone and you don't even know how you're supposed to get with them! That's stupid if you ask me! _Stupid ganguro Megane-bimbo!"_ Kagami yelled, crossing his arms. This girl was getting on his nerves! And the team wondered why Kagami was so weary of girls. They acted like _this!_ And they were crazy!

"Well I wasn't asking you, was I?" She crossed her arms as well, looking away from him, an angry pout on her face, "Besides, I already had a plan which _you_ destroyed, you yankee-looking _idiot!"_

"Oh, _me?" _Kagami pointed to himself, glaring at her back, "I wasn't the one that switched up some dumb letters and didn't bother to write the person's name on it! You're the stupid one!" Saiki bristled at the words, her anger rising enough for her to start shaking a little.

"Me?" She turned around, her metallic hair bow whipping in the slight breeze, "I'm stupid? I'm not the one with a probation letter, am I? You're the one who's got a _huge_ records file and you've only been in school for one whole term! You're the idiot!"

"Whatever." Kagami crossed his arms, scoffing and lowering his voice. "You're the one who wants my help, remember?"

"That may be true, _Kagamoron_." Saiki pushed up her glasses, "But you also need my help, don't you? See, the student council—and the _dean_ of the school, for that matter—are allowing me to 'reform you' in such a way that gets rid of your bad records."

"_Reform_ me?" Kagami scratched his head, a little confused by the sudden topic shift, "I'm fine just the way I am! I don't need to be reformed!"

"Not like that, idiot." Saiki sighed, "See, if you do tons of good deeds around the school, little by little, the file's gonna go away… and if we manage to accomplish… the _task_," She walks towards him, poking at his chest. "Goodbye bad records. It's that simple."

"Simple? That doesn't sound simple? Good deeds? Like what, volunteering to read in class?" Kagami questioned, slapping her hand away. "Do I have to go pull cats out of trees?"

Saiki smiled a little, dropping her hand and shaking her head at him, "No, _Superman_. Things good kids do. Going out of your way to help others, staying late to clean the classroom, paying attention in class… and _passing tests_. It's all very easy to do, even for an idiot like you."

"I'm tired of you calling me an idiot, Megane-bimbo!" Kagami yelled, clenching his fists.

"What? Does me putting you down make you feel bad? Then you need to stop referring to me as Megane-bimbo." Saiki asks, smirking a little, "In any case, Kagami Taiga, we need to find a way to get close to him..."

"Him…? O-Oh! You mean Kiyoshi?" Saiki nods, resting her forehead on her hand. This guy is just about as dumb as dumb can get in her eyes and she's starting to regret ever making this deal with him, but she wasn't the only one.

"Yes. For the next few days, we're going to look for any opening that will get me close to him, so we'll be observing him for the time being… and I'll think of some things for you to do—ways to get you out of detention." She turns around, walking away, "And I'll meet you in the public library tomorrow after your practice, okay?"

As Kagami listened to her speak, he frowned. This chick was surely asking a lot of him—first _observing_ (which kind of sounded like _stalking_ to the red-head) Kiyoshi and then she was going to make him do weird shit—but, he supposed, it was all for a good cause, at least he thought so—since it _was_ for him. He just hoped that this would end quickly. They'd only known each other a few days and she was already grating on his nerves.

"U-Uh… okay…" Kagami replied as he watched her toss him a wave over her shoulder and walk away. "Now if I only knew where the public library was…"

* * *

After practice, it's actually Kiyoshi and Hyūga that lead Kagami to the library, claiming that they both go home that way. Kagami was sure that they were only doing this because they were curious about Saiki and Kagami's tutoring.

"It's good that someone was willing to tutor you. I don't think I could handle any more of your stupidity." Hyūga says as they stand outside the library at the bottom of the steps. Kagami glares but doesn't make any move to retort. He knows Hyūga's only playing; the guy is more Tsundere than anything. "Maybe you'll stop spouting stupid shit when you get smart." Seriously, Kagami shakes his head in disbelief, the guy is more Tsundere than the word allows and Kagami wonders what Kiyoshi's fascination with the boy is.

Maybe he can just read him like a book? Kagami didn't know, nor could he find himself caring enough anymore. "Yeah, whatever." Kagami waves the insult off. He's used to them by now and usually, they're only said in passing and just for humor. Kagami isn't that dumb and he knows that the team was kind of surprised by the fact that he needed tutoring, even if it's fake tutoring.

"Look, there's your tutor." Kiyoshi comments, pointing up the steps to the girl sitting on the statue of the lion. "I wonder how she got up there… looks pretty high…" He squints, blocking out the sun to see her.

"Wh-What—_Hey!"_ Kagami shouts, running towards the statue, all attention on the girl and not on his two teammates, "Get down! You'll get hurt!"

"No I won't, Kagami Taiga." Saiki replies, sliding from the statue and into a squat to brace herself. Rising to her full height and dusting off her skirt, she cranes her neck to stare up at him, her face once again devoid of any emotion, but from the close distance Kagami can see the light blush on her cheeks and chalks it up to the fact that Hyūga and Kiyoshi just ran up to them. "Thank you for bringing him to the library." She nods to Hyūga and Kiyoshi.

"Ah, no problem! Have fun learning, Kagami!" Kiyoshi calls, that smile ever present on his face as he begins walking away with Hyūga. Kagami frowns crossing his arms and staring down at Saiki who is still looking at Kiyoshi as they leave. It's only until Kagami snaps his fingers in front of her face that she returns to the real world and looks up at him briefly and Kagami catches the tail end of the longing gaze.

"Come, let's go inside." Saiki turned, walking up the rest of the steps without Kagami and the boy knew he wasn't going to get any explanation from her as to why she was up there.

* * *

"So?" Kagami rested his head on the table. They were in the back of the library in the study area. It was a perfect place for tutoring… if that was what they were going to do.

Saiki and Kagami had spent the last twenty minutes finding a seat and arguing over the seat with someone—well Kagami did most of the arguing and Saiki kind of stood there, hoping the librarian wasn't making rounds—and finally, they had the perfect seat. Kagami didn't look at the girl, and instead, he scanned the area of the library they were in. He'd never seen such a big library—were they all this big? Kagami didn't know, and in essence, he didn't really care, but when this girl sitting across from him didn't have anything to say, his mind began to wander.

"So _what?"_ She snapped suddenly. He looked up, she had been scribbling furiously on a piece of notebook paper while he just sort of sat there, half-sprawled on the table. He shook his head, sitting up and staring at the paper, and he regretted the moment he decided to start reading what it said.

He could barely contain his laughter as he covered his mouth, banging his fist against the table and stomping his foot in an attempt to subdue the laughter. "Sh-Shut up, idiot." She didn't raise her voice, but pulled the notebook off of the table, holding it close to her. "They're just ideas..." Kagami swore he could hear the pouting tone in her voice and feel the blush on her cheeks. Embarrassment radiated from her and Kagami couldn't help but laugh.

"So... becoming a magical girl and saving his life... you weren't being serious about that, were you? Or that shitty drawing? That wasn't serious was it? What was that supposed to be anyway?" Kagami had finally calmed himself enough to speak, though it wasn't by much and he was still chuckling in between words, "What about that super-model idea? Hm?"

"Well you're supposed to be helping me and you haven't done a damn thing, Kagami Taiga." Saiki frowned, looking down at the table.

"Well how about this? Find a way to get close to him. During school is practically impossible cause you're in different grades, but you can find a way, can't you?" Kagami said, leaning back, "Aren't you the 'fearful VP' of the student council?"

"...That I am, but this is different..." She replied, "I have to... deal with _feelings_... I'm not used to _feelings_..." She made a weird grabbing motion with her fingers. Kagami chuckled once again, shaking his head.

"I'm sure you can do it... now are you gonna help me do this homework or not? Cause if you're not then I'm leavin'." Kagami said, pulling his bag onto the table.

She seemed to think about it. Saiki looked from Kagami to his bag and then around the study area which was practically empty. "Well... it's the least I could do, considering you gave me a better idea than kidnapping..." She offered a small smile, pulling her own bag onto the table.

Kagami smirked a little when they had parted ways almost two hours later. He'd finished his homework _and _he managed to understand the math a lot more, but he understood less of that girl and her plan.

* * *

The next day when Kagami walked into the gym with the team, he was surprised to find someone else there with Riko. Instead of the female coach setting out the balls and different training areas, as she told them they'd be doing today, it was Saiki who was moving around the gym while Riko practically barked orders at her, though the girl didn't seem to mind. The whistle then blew and all attention was on Riko. Most of the gazes she received were ones of confusion and the brunette second year could only smirk.

"Alright, guys!" Riko clapped loudly, "We've got ourselves a manager! This here is Saiki Kylie." Riko motioned the girl closer. Saiki came to stand in front of the group, giving them a small and shy-looking wave as Riko continued, "Don't be assholes towards her because she was nice enough to volunteer for this position. If I find out that you're doing anything even remotely dissatisfying about your attitude towards Saiki-chan, I'll have your ass on a platter and then I'll serve it up to Nigou, understand?"

The dark aura enveloping the second year combined with the strange smile on her face was enough for the whole team to stand up straighter, stiffer even, as they shouted_ "Yes ma'am!"_ loudly. Riko nodded and smiled, this time without any malice, seemingly satisfied with the reply.

"Good! Now line up and get ready for practice!" Riko blew the whistle again and the boys went to line up.

After practice, Kuroko found himself feeling sort of like a third wheel. Not that he wasn't used to it, but this time, it felt strange. Joining him and Kagami on their journey home today was Saiki. He watched as Kagami yelled and reacted to the girl's even tone and lack of expression as they easily and fluently spoke English. He could only wonder what they seemed so important as to speak the language so few knew. If only he know what they were talking about.

_"There is no way Superman could beat Goku in a fight." _Kagami adamantly argued, _"Goku has a huge amount of power! It's practically impossible."_

_"If that's what you believe, _Kagami Taiga." Saiki easily replied, _"But Superman can't die and Goku has died at least three times, hasn't he? You're crazy to think that Goku would even come close to Superman. That's like saying Sasuke would beat Renji in a fight."_

_"That's exactly what I'm saying!"_ Kagami yelled, grunting in frustration and switching back to Japanese, "You're crazy for thinkin' otherwise."

"You're the crazy one, Kagami Taiga." Saiki countered, looking around, "Where is your friend? The one with the blue hair? Did he leave?"

"Wha—?" Kagami looked around. He hadn't even noticed—well, he's practically forgotten about Kuroko since the end of practice. "He was here a second ago…"

"I'm right here, Kagami-kun. Saiki-san." Kuroko made himself known, staring blankly at the two as Kagami jumped slightly, hiding behind Saiki. "I haven't left though it's not like you noticed, both of you were plotting in your English language."

_"P-Plotting?!_ We're not plotting!" Kagami said quickly, waving his hands around, "O-Oh look!" He pointed to Maiji burger, "Haha… yay let's go eat."

Without waiting for a reply, Kagami practically sprinted towards the door, leaving Kuroko and Saiki behind to watch him. Kuroko sighed, shaking his head, "I'm terribly sorry you had to see him like that… it's hard to train such an animal."

"I understand." Saiki nodded as she and Kuroko entered the restaurant, "I praise you for even trying. He's a lost cause from what I can see." The two's expressions were nearly the same as Saiki looked around, seeing Kagami standing up at the counter.

She and Kuroko walked up behind him, hearing the tail end of his large order, "Maybe two of those wrap thingies, I've never had them before and thr—no, _five_ large fries." Kagami finished with a sliver of a smile on his face as the girl behind the counter looked at him with disgust. She practically spit out his total and handed him the receipt, and Kagami couldn't figure out why her attitude had changed while he stood off to the side, allowing Kuroko and Saiki to go up next.

Two simple shakes were ordered—one being strawberry and the other vanilla and Kagami's feast was placed on his tray and they picked their usual table. Saiki slid in next to Kuroko and Kagami sat opposite them, beginning to tear into his first burger. Saiki watched him with disinterest. "So how's the tutoring going? Is Kagami proving easy to tutor?"

"No," Saiki responds almost immediately, "He's a brute and can barely comprehend what I'm saying." Kagami looked up, glaring at her as he gulped down the remains of the burger.

"Hey you're the one that's hard to listen to. Your voice puts me to sleep!" Kagami retorted loudly, pointing an accusing finger at her. "And whaddya mean I'm a brute?! Megane-bimbo!"

"I see what you mean, Saiki-san." Kuroko adds, "Kagami-kun is a bit of a handful, but don't worry, he gets better with minimal training. Spray him with a water bottle, cats hate that."

"Originally I was joking." Saiki admitted, "But then you went and proved my point, now everyone is aware of your presence in this establishment if they already weren't already from your... purchase..." She stared in distaste at his tray.

"Whatever." Kagami continued, shoveling food into his mouth in embarrassment. Gosh! This girl really grinded on his nerves. Kagami scowled as he looked up at Kuroko and Saiki who were talking about their milkshakes, having forgotten about Kagami for the time being. This left him to his thoughts as he began piling fries onto his burger and pouring ketchup all over them in an attempt to coat the entire burger in ketchup.

Was he really considering sticking with this awful plan? It was so quickly thought up that Kagami was sure she'd just woken up one morning and thought 'this is what I'm going to do!' and that's what she did and looking at her now, she didn't seem like the type to take such a risk, but this was a bad plan.

"Is there something on my face, Kagami Taiga?" She said, her attention back on Kagami and he looks directly at her face, noting the thick-framed glasses perched on her nose. "You've been staring for a long time... and you're eating wrapping."

For the second time that week, Kagami sputters, spitting out, coughing and hacking to get any remains of the burger wrappings out of his mouth and he reaches across the table, picking up Saiki's cup and downing the milkshake within seconds. She frowns visibly, staring at the now empty cup on the table and looking back up at Kagami.

"I wasn't done with that." She simply said and Kagami glared at her, trying to read her face. She didn't give any other information about her emotions other than the fact that she looked a little displeased with Kagami at the moment and Kuroko, who had taken to chewing on his milkshake straw, watched the two interact.

"Maybe this is why you'll never get a girlfriend." He commented and Kagami stuttered out an incoherent reply as the blue-haired boy got up. "I'm leaving now, enjoy your date, Kagami-kun, this might be the only one you'll get. Saiki-san, try to keep him out of trouble." Kagami blushed hotly, stuttering as he tried and failed to retort against Kuroko's words. That boy…he'd get him later...

"I'll do my best, Kuroko Tetsuya-san." Saiki nodded, completely ignoring Kuroko's notion of them being on a date while Kagami couldn't seem to think of anything but that. His cheeks burned red and he ducked his head, shoveling fries into his mouth.

"Kuroko's just fine." He said, giving her a small, barely noticeable smile and then turning to Kagami, "I'll talk to you later, Kagami." Kagami frowned a little as Kuroko left them alone. What did he mean he'd talk to him later? They never 'talked to each other later', this was something new and he was sure it had to deal with that girl sitting across from him, looking so innocent as she patiently waited for him to finish eating.

But Kagami knew, he knew she was crazy. She was a manipulative person who put fine prints in after someone signed a contract with her. What if she was a spawn of the devil? That would really explain it. Kagami looked back at her, a glare on his face.

"Kagami Taiga, it's rude to stare." She said, "If you've got something to say, you should say it."

"O-Oh... I don't... no." Kagami stuttered, "It's nothing."

"Alright, well it's time to go because you've been chewing on wrapping for about five minutes now and I'm concerned."

"_Goddamit!"_

* * *

The two walked home in silence, occasionally, Saiki would look up and Kagami and when he'd glance down, she'd look away. Kagami rolled his eyes when this happened for what seemed like the sixth time. "Okay, what is it?" He stopped walking and Saiki took a few more steps before turning to face him. "Why do you keep looking at me and then looking away? It's starting to get annoying!"

"I'm measuring." Saiki said easily. Kagami waited for her to elaborate, as she always, so eloquently does, "Kiyoshi-san is about the same height as you, right? And both of you are well over 190cm, aren't you?" Kagami nodded and Saiki stepped closer, "I'm just trying to measure the height difference between the two of us."

Kagami snorted, "You're already trying to measure when he barely knows of your existence?" It was laughable at the moment, but apparently she didn't think so and 'accidentally' stepped on his foot as she twirled around, walking ahead. Kagami grunted in mild pain but that didn't stop him from continuing. "Hey, c'mon! It's not like you've done anything anyway. So, what? You became our manager, big deal. All you did today was awkwardly watch our practice and hand out water bottles and towels in between and after."

"At least I'm trying." She responded, that cold tone making Kagami shiver. "And what about you? I've tutored you for that math test you took yesterday and you failed it. Clearly you're not trying."

"Wha—! How do you even know that?!" Kagami yelped, but Saiki kept walking, "Megane—I mean Saiki! How do you know that?" He jogged, standing in front of her and holding her by the shoulders to stop her from walking any further, "Who told you I failed?"

"Your math teacher." She responded easily, "He—and all of your other teachers for that matter—know about your end this little... deal we made. And they're none too fond of you."

"What's that mean to me? I don't care." Kagami crossed his arms. In all honesty, all he cared about was basketball, it's not like it mattered if he failed a few tests as long as he passed in the long run, right?

"Combined with the fact that you're on academic probation, they could put you on an academic _suspension_, meaning that if you don't get yourself together, you could get pulled off the team—or even kicked out of school." Saiki explained, "And the dean's considering it, because all of your teachers are petitioning to have you put in a remedial class which results in extra classes, and _those_ extra classes happen after regular school and _that_ means," She paused to take a breath, and make sure he's keeping up with her. Kagami waits in anticipation, barely having time to comprehend everything. "You won't be able to attend practice and you can kiss your Winter Cup goodbye."

Kagami's eyes widened and he lets loose a large breath he didn't even know he was holding. "Wh-But I studied hard for that test! I totally tried!"

"It certainly didn't look like it." Saiki crossed her arms, "But that just means we have to try harder."

"And you have to actually talk to senpai." Kagami countered, "Today was pitiful."

"Today wasn't my day." Saiki replied simply. "Oha-Asa said today was a bad day for romantic relationships for Cancer."

"You're just like that weirdo from Shūtokū…" Kagami commented but didn't press the topic forward anymore. "It's getting late."

"Nice observation." Saiki said, looking up at Kagami, "Well I'll be going this way, good night."

"Wait!" Kagami held a hand out to stop her, "U-Uh, are you okay to walk alone?"

"Mm, I'm fine." Saiki replied, "Or do you want to walk me home?"

"I-It's nothing like that!" His cheeks burned brightly as he looked away, "Ah it's just…"

"Fine, I get it." Saiki cut him off with a wave of her hand. "You may walk me home, Kagami Taiga."

"Kagami's fine. Or just Taiga." He responded as Saiki passed by him and he followed behind her, happy she didn't comment on his actions any further. Maybe she picked up on subtleties that Kuroko didn't, because he knew if the other boy was here, he would've said something and Kagami didn't know if he could live that down.

The walk was quiet once more and Kagami found himself left to his thoughts as he blindly followed Saiki down a street he'd never once turned down since moving back to Japan. This was crazy. He'd met this girl no more than a week ago and she was still a little strange in her ways and yet it seems like nothing and everything has changed within that time period. Kagami looked around, wondering where Saiki had gone and found his answer when he bumped right into the short girl, knocking her and himself down in the process.

"Get off!" She yelped, her voice seemingly louder on the quiet street and Kagami sat up, allowing her to turn around so that he was straddling her and suddenly they were bathed in a yellow light.

"Hey! What're you doing out here?!" The person standing in the doorway yelled and Saiki gulped, pushing Kagami off of her.

"Go. Go _now."_ She warned and Kagami took no chances, grabbing his bag and running off, not looking back.

"Yeah, you better run, punk!" The person's loud voice followed the scared Kagami as he sprinted down the street.

* * *

**Hi! I'd like to thank all of the people who followed and faved and reviewed my little story here! It's that that's keepin' this train a-rollin'! Thanks and I hope to continue to write something you all like! :) Bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

* * *

The next day found Kagami looking over his shoulder and jumping at every little sound, by the time he made it to practice, he was tired and jittery. There was just something about the way Saiki told him to leave last night and the _malice_ in that man's voice that made the red-head glance over his shoulder every couple of seconds.

"Kagami-kun." Kuroko's hand was on Kagami's forearm and it was _so_ cold, sending a chill down the taller's spine. Kagami screamed loudly, quieting the gym as he backed into the door and subsequently Saiki, knocking her down again.

"Kagami Taiga." She grunted, frowning at him. "Can you get _off _of me?"

Surprised at her sudden appearance, Kagami practically jumped up and Kiyoshi steadied the boy as he entered the gym, laughing slightly as he moved to offer Saiki a hand up, which the girl took, looking down and hiding her face. "You should be careful, Kagami, you're not gonna get a girlfriend if it goes around that you're knockin' down all the pretty girls cause you're so clumsy."

Kagami rolled his eyes, looking away from them as his face heated up. "What-Whatever! Can we just practice now? Please?" He begged and his wish was granted because soon after, Riko blew the whistle, telling them to line up and Kagami left Saiki's side, Kuroko following behind him. Kiyoshi lagged for a minute, smiling and making sure Saiki was alright. A shy nod was his reply and Kiyoshi ruffled Saiki's hair, smiling widely before jogging to line up and Saiki breathed out, trying to calm herself.

* * *

And after practice it's Kagami that's the one trying to calm himself. Kise stands next to him, a happy smile on his face as he claps, watching Saiki twirl around and present herself to the two. "You look so cute, Kycchi!" He beams and it seems genuine this time and Kagami can barely look at her because what Kise says is _true_. She does look kind of… _cute_. "And what about you, Kagamicchi? Do you think Kycchi looks cute too?"

Kagami scoffs, "As if. Besides it's not even _me_ she's wearing all this girly junk for."

"But if it _was_ you, wouldn't you think she was cute?" Kise presses and Kagami finds himself pushed into a corner as Saiki's seemingly expectant yet dull gaze is on him and Kise's eyes are sparkling, both waiting for an answer. But then Saiki trips coming down off the platform and Kise's at her side and Kagami's trying not to laugh as Kise helps her up and all the attention is on her and not him.

Kagami is grateful and relieved now. Then he looks at their school bags on the expensive-looking couch in the upscale clothing boutique and wonders how he even got dragged here in the first place and he thinks back to a few hours ago.

Practice had ended early because Furi had tripped, trying to avoid Nigou and smacked Hyūga in the face with the ball, subsequently breaking his glasses and Riko, who was on the phone with her father yelling loudly at the time, had to leave early to help her father and a bunch of other excuses were made and the team disbanded early, leaving Kagami, Kuroko and Saiki to walk home when the sun was still out. Their walk was quiet and only Kuroko had something left from their trip to Maiji burger—a milkshake, as the usual.

_"So what's the plan?" _Kagami asks, easily switching to English and Saiki looks up at him, confusion lightly tinting her expressionless face. _"Y'know… how're you gonna…" _He makes hand motions and suddenly Saiki knows what he's talking about and she looks down in thought.

And that was when Kise spotted them, yelling and waving wildly as he ran over. Then Kuroko vanished, leaving Saiki and Kagami alone with Kise. "Aw…" Kise's smile faded as he looked around, "Where's Kurokocchi? I just saw him…"

"He must have made himself scarce, Kise Ryōta." Saiki responded and Kise's smile returned full force, reaching out to pull Saiki into his arms. "And now I know why…"

"Oh! It's Kycchi! It's been so long!" He practically squealed, picking her up and spinning her around.

"Kise Ryōta, can you put me down, please?" Saiki manages and Kise lets her down gently. She gives him a weak smile as the blonde looks from her to Kagami.

"Oh, that's right. You guys go to school together… I don't know why you and Kurokocchi picked to go to Seirin instead of Kaijō, we're a great school!" Kise whined, frowning a little.

"I didn't want to be in close proximity of you all the time, Kise Ryōta. I had enough of that in middle school." Saiki answers simply, "But it was nice seeing you again. Now we must be going."

"So mean…" Kise cries big, fat and extremely fake tears, shaking his head as he perks once more after hearing her words, "Where are you going?" His amber eyes are wide with curiosity and Saiki looks to Kagami.

"Nowhere really." She responds honestly and Kise hums in acknowledgment, waiting for her to elaborate. When she doesn't, he frowns slightly.

"Well… how about we go shopping?" Kise says, and then gets excited, "Yeah! Shopping is the best thing to do!"

"If I need to go shopping, I can go with Kagami Taiga." Saiki pulls at the tall boy's arm and he grunts, but she doesn't let go.

"No, you can go with Kise." Kagami inputs, "Maybe he can help you dress better. And he's offering too. I'm not."

"I dress fine." Saiki snaps, glaring at Kagami. "You've never seen me on an off day."

"No," Kise says, "I'd have to agree with Kagamicchi on this one. You dress like you live in a barn underground on your off days. What if you want a boyfriend?" Kagami snorts and Saiki lets go of Kagami to punch Kise, making him whine from the pain. He glared weakly as he rubbed his arm.

"Funny, that's exactly what she wants." Kagami comments, chuckling. Saiki elbows him and Kagami grunts again.

"Don't divulge information to this…" She trails, looking Kise up and down before continuing, but is promptly cut off by Kise's whining.

"You're looking for a boyfriend?! With _him? _Why didn't you call _me?!"_ He cries, never stopping his off-handed insults towards Kagami, which makes Kagami scoff loudly, crossing his arms, "I'm the one with a fashion sense to _die_ for! Kagamicchi's is worse than death! I know exactly how to get you a boyfriend!"

"I suppose you could be right." Saiki nods, "Very well. You can come too." Kise's eyes widen as he spins around with Saiki, the latter much less enthusiastic.

"Wait! Hold up, why don't you just take him, I wanna go home." Kagami speaks up, glaring at Kise for his comments, "Why do I have to come?"

"Because you're my slave, or do you not remember?" Saiki reminds him and Kagami gulps, paling a little and it doesn't go unnoticed by Kise, who looks on in confusion, but shakes it off, not wanting to get into Saiki's business.

He knows how that girl is, just from having class with her all through middle school. And if Kagami is in debt to her, then it must be something big. Kise shakes his head a little, hoping to ease Kagami's worries with his words. "No need to worry, Kagamicchi! You don't have to do anything, just leave it to me!" Kise flashes a peace sign Kagami's way.

"Right…" Kagami breathes out, crossing his arms and glaring past Kise. The blonde doesn't give it a second thought and grabs Saiki's hand, leading her down the street and making loud conversation, unaware that they are and have been the center of attention since Kise ran over to them.

* * *

Kagami looks around again, frowning as he then remembers all the different stores they've been to within the past hour, along with all the clothes she's tried on and all the walking they'd done and all the accessories and clothes they bought—which begs the question whether or not Saiki was rich. She had a debit card, so she had to be something like that, Kagami pieced together as Kise walks past him.

"So who's the lucky guy?" Kise asks suddenly once Saiki's looking at herself in the mirror and he begins rooting around in his bag. "Do I know him?"

"I'm not sure." Saiki says, "Maybe. Possibly, but I won't be telling you." Kise pouts but he knows Saiki and if she isn't going to tell him willingly, she's not going to tell him at all.

"Well what's the plan then?" He then asks and Kagami gives him a look, "The game plan? How do you expect Kycchi to get with this mystery man with no plan?"

"I don't know." Kagami crossed his arms, "I'm just the 'slave', I don't make the plans. She does."

"Well here's an idea: Ask him out." Kise snaps as if the idea had just come to him by a stroke of good luck. "No holding back, just do it."

"I-I—no way..." Saiki instantly rejects his idea, shaking her head wildly, "There's no way I could do that…"

"You won't know until you try, Hm? And you can practice now! On Kagamicchi and I!" Kise pulls Kagami to stand in front of Saiki, patting his uniform jacket, "Just ask him to the movies. Pretend it's your guy and ask him."

The two stand there for a few minutes, Saiki staring blankly up at Kagami and Kagami practically glaring down at Saiki, expectant. And Kise's standing by Kagami smiling in a way that makes Saiki believe he's an idiot, then she looks back to Kagami and her face darkens as much as her tanned skin allows and she looks away. Kagami's getting impatient. "Just do it! I'm not him, so what's the big deal?"

"It's embarrassing!" She replies, covering her face with her hands. "Stop looking at me!" Kise laughs a little, as if he knows something Kagami doesn't and moves over to Saiki, whispering something to her that makes her lower her hands a little bit.

Kagami watches them as slowly and surely, she manages to drop her hands to her sides and Kise smiles, turning her around to face Kagami. "You can't do this when you go to ask him out, okay? That's why we're practicing."

"Right…" Saiki breathes, trying her best to calm herself. She looks back up at Kagami, her eyes hardened in a glare.

"Stop glaring! Both of you!" Kise scolds, "Just look at each other, no glaring!"

And Saiki stops, now she's just looking at Kagami and he's doing the same and all of the sudden, he's actually _looking_ at her. Not glaring at her or just looking in her general direction and he can see the light tint of red across her cheeks and the small, almost nonexistent hint of a nervous smile on the corners of her lips and he notices that beauty mark just underneath her left eye. They're staring at each other—no glaring, no angry looks or negative emotions—just unabashed staring without any interruptions—and then he realizes… He was just _checking out _this girl. Kagami Taiga was just checking out Saiki Kylie. Kagami shook the thought off as his eyes travel back up to hers and it seems as if she was doing the same to him. Kagami's face burns and he looks away from her smoldering brown eyes, which have returned to his blistering red ones, and towards the window.

And she seems to snap out of it too at that moment, looking towards Kise who nods encouragingly towards her. "U-Uh… would you like to go to the movies with me?"

* * *

After Kise left them to do something Kagami couldn't be bothered to remember, they're back in Maiji burger, Saiki with a large tray of food in front of her and Kagami with three pages of homework staring back at him as he scratches his head. "Help me." He says suddenly and Saiki points at the first math problem.

"It's Pythagorean Theorem." She simply says, "So you use this formula and put everything in to get the third side." She takes the pencil and writes the formula down for him.

Kagami nods but doesn't look back to the problem right away, and instead looks to Saiki. "You eat a lot." He comments as he watches her tear into the third burger, noting two more on the tray.

"You're one to talk." She counters, "Besides dealing with Kise Ryōta and shopping make me hungry."

"Yeah, I can tell…" His eyes travel to the bags next to him and opposite him on Saiki's side. They're quiet for a moment as Kagami does the math problem and as he goes to show her, she looks up from her tray.

"Do you think this'll work?" She asks him. Kagami's gaze returns to her face and he can see the slight worry in her eyes. "I mean…" She doesn't really know what she means but she knows she wants to say something and her fingers are tapping at the table and she knows he can probably feel her leg bouncing around underneath the table.

Kagami shakes his head and stops her hand, resting his on top of hers. "Ah, if it was hopeless, we wouldn't be doing this, would we? There's always a chance." He says, but somewhere in his mind he knows that someone might get hurt in this whole ordeal.

And his theory is confirmed when she smiles at him, just like she did the night they met. In that particular moment, he's not sure if it'll be Saiki.

* * *

It's later in the next week on a Saturday after practice when Saiki's finally alone with Kiyoshi due to an off-chance of him being the one to stay late and help put the equipment away. She doesn't look her best and she can feel Kagami's presence waiting behind the door as she gathers up the courage to ask. Kiyoshi's over on the other side of the equipment shed talking loudly about something or other and Saiki's rubbing her sweaty hands on the back of her skirt as she breathes in and out loudly, attracting Kiyoshi's attention.

"You alright, Saiki-chan?" He asks, wandering over to her. "It's kinda hot in here… you wanna take a break? We're mostly done anyway."

"U-Uh… no I'm fine." She replies with a smile. He returns the gesture, putting a hand to her forehead to check.

"You seem a little hot…" Then he's talking about something Saiki can barely hear above the voices of Kise and Kagami in her head.

So she closes her eyes and blurts, "Do you wanna go to the movies with me?!"

And all movement stops. Saiki opens an eye, looking up at Kiyoshi who seems a little rigid and she's scared. Her heart drops into the pit of her stomach as the silence stretches on into what feels like an eternity before suddenly Kagami sees her running towards him and they're a pile of limbs on the ground as she wiggles around, trying to sit up.

He's ready to comfort her and to talk some sense into Kiyoshi but when she manages to sit up, there's a large smile plastered into her face.

"H-He said yes!" She practically yells. "Taiga! It worked!" She's smiling even wider now and he can't help but smile back at her.

"That's great." He responds, ruffling her hair. "Really…great…" She doesn't seem to notice that he's not as enthusiastic as she is and she stands up, smiling down at Kagami.

"I feel great! You know what? Let's go get something to eat. Whatever you want, I'll pay!"

"Well, since you're offering..." Kagami dusts himself off as he stands up, "I want some pizza."

"I know a place." Saiki tells him, motioning for him to follow. As they leave he sees Kiyoshi come out of the equipment shed, though Saiki doesn't notice and Kiyoshi seems a little surprised. Saiki's chattering at Kagami but he's too busy making eye contact with Kiyoshi.

The brunet's surprised look morphs into a knowing look and he smiles as Kagami finds himself wanting to know what everybody knows except him. "Are you even listening?" She suddenly asks, grabbing his arm and Kagami looks to her, "I asked you a question."

"Oh… yeah." Kagami responds half-heartedly and he looks back to where Kiyoshi was standing, surprised by the sudden lack of the older male. "Say it again?"

"You're hopeless…" She shakes her head, "Like I was saying…" They continue walking and Kagami looks back one last time, seeing nothing, before he listens to Saiki's words.

"Saiki." Kagami's knocking on the student council door. He's impatient, excited even as he gently raps at the door and taps his foot, staring down at the paper in his hand with a large, silly grin on his face. "Saiki!"

"Maybe she's not here." Kuroko suggests as he stands next to Kagami. "We can come back later or you'll see her at practice." Kagami stops his knocking and looks at Kuroko, unsurprised as he already knew Kuroko was around.

"Maybe…" He says and frowns a little and knocks one more time, "Saiki!"

"Kylie's just fine." She responds from next to him and both are surprised. She looks at them with her blank gaze in check. "Stop yelling, what's wrong?"

"This!" Kagami beams proudly as he holds out a piece of paper. Kylie stares at it for a moment before she looks up to Kagami.

"98%, huh?" She comments, "Good job, Taiga." Then she smiles and Kagami blushes a little, deciding that he liked the way his name sounds when she says it.

"Yeah well…" He rubs the back of his head and Kuroko steps forward, subtly elbowing Kagami. Kagami grunts, smile lost as he glares down at Kuroko, scowling.

"We should get to practice, huh?" Kuroko said and Saiki nodded as she pulled open the door.

"I'll be a little late; I've just got to take care of a few things." She says. Kuroko nods and pulls Kagami away from the door. "Really, you've done a good job, Taiga. You've been doing really well lately, actually." She lingers at the door, "Soon you won't have a bad record in your file at all."

As Kuroko led Kagami down the hall towards the locker room, realization hit him like a ball to the face. After all this time, almost a month of studying and plotting and hanging out with this girl, Kylie was finally going to go on her date with Kiyoshi and Kagami was balancing school with basketball well enough that his teachers would stop complaining.

And that meant... "It's ending." Kuroko seemed confused by Kagami's words but didn't press the matter; Kagami was too lost in his own thoughts to even hear him anyway. "I can't believe it's ending."

* * *

"This is great, Kylie!" Nobody ever used her first name. Kylie looked up to see Yamada coming towards her. The dark-haired president picked the girl up and spun her around. He had a large, silly-looking grin on his face as Takahama and Takahashi came over, the latter popping a party popper and cheering.

"I can't believe you managed to turn that delinquent around!" Takahama cheered, "It's really incredible, what did you do?"

"I don't really know myself." Kylie responded, a small smile on her face. "It wasn't that hard."

"He seems to really listen to you." Yamada commented, putting Kylie down. "He didn't do this well with that other tutor he was given."

That means he _likes_ you." Takahashi wrapped an arm around Kylie's shoulders, pulling her closer to him and waving an arm out in the air. "Like-likes you so that's why he listens to you."

"No way." Kylie shrugged off Takahashi's arm and shook her head, elbowing him in the guy. "There's no way. I already like someone and he's only focused on basketball. That's why he performed so well." Takahashi grunted, clutching his stomach in pain.

"Hm." Yamada said, shaking his head, effectively ignoring Takahashi, "Sure, if that's what you want to believe." Kylie paid no mind to his words, however. The thought of Kagami even liking her as a friend was strange, so liking her—actually _liking_ her was completely out of the question. Besides, she had Kiyoshi—or _will_ have Kiyoshi, so there would be no room for Kagami anyway.

"Well I have to get going." Kylie said, "Those jerseys don't wash themselves."

"Alright, just come back soon, we have to meet with the baseball team and I need you to Axel Kick something when we do." Yamada informed her, his tone completely casual and Kylie nodded, leaving the student council room, still stuck on the notion that Kagami could have feelings for her.

"Ridiculous…" She shook her head. That boy could barely stand her on a good day. "I'll just be glad when this ends…" They only had one last test to prepare him for and the last of everything would be gone. But would it really?

* * *

**Hey there, y'all! I hope this was a good chapter! I wasn't really sure when I was writing it and checking it over, but y'know what? I like it a little bit. I guess it's grown on me, is all. Anyway, look out for the next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: All My Options**

* * *

Kuroko watched Kagami stare out the window as Furihata and Tsuchida tag-teamed against the CPU. They were playing some game that Furihata owned, which wasn't surprising considering they were all at the boy's house, and Kuroko couldn't be bothered to even care, "Kagami, what are you doing?" Kuroko's words brought everyone's attention to the red-head.

Kagami turned, catching all of their eyes on him. "Wh-What?" He stutters, "Why are you all looking at me?! Stop!" He looks away from them, face tinged pink in embarrassment.

"I asked a question but you were too wrapped up in your fantasy to even notice." Kuroko stated calmly, his blank stare never wavering, though Tsuchida and Furihata returned to their game, keeping an ear open to listen. "I asked you what was wrong." Kagami looked back towards the window and sighed loudly.

"Nothing." He responded, "I'm fine." Before Kuroko could point out that no, the red-head wasn't fine, the boy's phone rang. Kagami scrambled, swiping it off of the windowsill and flipping it open. Kuroko was surprised to see him move so fast when he wasn't playing basketball or eating something.

"Hello?" To Kuroko it seemed as if he had been waiting for that particular call. A little too urgent, a little too desperate and a little too expectant.

"_T-Taiga..." _On the other side of the phone, Kagami could hear Saiki's quiet voice and honestly, he was a little surprised. He stood up, leaving the room almost immediately to stand out in the hall.

"Sai—I mean, _Kylie_," He paused for a moment and swore he could hear sniffling, "What's wrong? Aren't you on your date?"

"_I, uh... he didn't show up." _Kagami was a little surprised at her words. Kiyoshi didn't seem like the type to ditch someone like that, or at least he'd give a reason of some sort as to why he could make it.

"Don't tell me you're still there." He then said, immediately being met with silence. Kagami sighed loudly, running a hand through his hair, "Uh, don't move. Give me ten minutes." After she agreed, Kagami hung up the phone, going back into the room to grab his jacket.

"What happened?" Kuroko was the first to ask and Kagami frowned, looking over at the blue-haired boy.

"Nothing, I just gotta go..."

* * *

It was a little more than ten minutes later when Kylie heard loud steps headed in her direction. She looked up just in time to see Kagami running towards her, which prompted her to begin wiping at her face, knowing the effort was futile, her eyes were already puffy around the edges and she was soaked. Then an umbrella was suddenly over her head. Kylie looked up again, seeing Kagami panting, out of breath as he looked down at her.

As soon as he looked at her, he knew she'd been crying. And the place area around them was completely empty. Stores were open, yeah, but there weren't any people walking around. It was completely desolate and quiet. "Hey..." He breathed out.

"Hey." Kylie's voice cracked as she stood up, looking anywhere but at Kagami. "Uh, thanks for coming..."

"Yeah well, let's get you home then. Don't wanna catch a cold." Kagami coughed, but Kylie didn't move at all. Instead, she shook her head, wet hands grabbing at Kagami's jacket.

"No!" She yelled much to his surprise, then suddenly let go, as if his jacket had burned her. "U-Um, no... I can't go home; I don't want to go home... not right now, anyway." Still a little surprised, Kagami nods, not knowing what to say or do and they're quiet for a moment, only the sound of the rain keeping the silence from being too awkward, but there's tension in it and Kagami finds questions forming in his mind.

Questions like _Where was Kiyoshi? _and _Why didn't he show up? _but most importantly, _Why did he come here? _Why did he feel so compelled to come? Even after she called him, he could've told her to go home; he didn't have to come out here in all this nasty weather to get her. Kagami didn't have any answers and it looked like Kylie wouldn't be talking anytime soon. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "Alright then, where do you want to go?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment before looking up at him. He couldn't clearly see her eyes, but he knew that his own widened when she said, "Your house."

* * *

This was the first time a girl had been in his house since he moved here. His mom had only been here once, to help him get settled in and that was the first and last bit of "female touch" his apartment had. Kagami tried not to make a big deal of the huge mess he left his apartment in. He hadn't even remembered it was so messy. Crusted pizza boxes lay around the living room and bottles and cans of soda were thrown around the same way—just because he was _good _at cooking didn't mean he wanted to do it all the time. Not to mention half his wardrobe was also in the living room, creating an even larger mess.

Kagami moved around, plastic garbage bag in hand as he picked up all the trash. Kylie watched from on the couch, a towel on her head, on her body and underneath her so she wouldn't get the couch wet. "Sorry about the mess..." Kagami said once he had everything returned to how it was, maybe two weeks ago, "It's been a long time since someone's come over." That was an understatement. Not even Kuroko had been to his house yet and they were supposedly 'best friends', according to Kiyoshi anyway. He winced when he thought of the boy. It was his fault they were here like this.

"I don't mind." Kylie replied, looking around, "So... you live by yourself?" Kagami sits down on the floor, back facing the small TV as he nods.

"Just me." He confirms, nodding again. "Uh, I don't have any food, so do you wanna order something?" She doesn't say anything and it's quiet for a long while, just the rain pelting harshly against the window as if it wanted to get in the apartment. She's not looking at him—instead she's staring at the sparsely decorated apartment, but Kagami's staring unabashedly straight at her. She's wearing that dress they bought at the boutique with Kise and Kagami couldn't imagine what she looked like if she wasn't covered in towels or drenched in rain.

All he can picture is the makeup she put on smeared from tears and rain and the tangle of her hair probably from her playing with it so much while she was waiting. He shakes the thought off. If they're going to get away from that, he needs to get away from it first.

"Well I could go for some pizza after seeing all of those boxes." She says finally, eyes returning to him. Kagami nods, picking up the phone and before long, they're waiting for a pizza.

It's quiet again but Kagami can't bring himself to break the silence—he's done it at least twice now and feels as if he's being annoying if he tries to do it again. Kylie's still on the couch, sitting completely still when his eyes wander over to her. Then suddenly she turns, mouth open just as someone knocks at the door and Kagami knows the pizza has arrived.

He gets up, grabbing his wallet off of the small table and heading towards the door. From where she sits, Kylie can see everything and she can't help but think back to what happened earlier—or what didn't happen. She frowned, shaking it off when Kagami returned to the table, smiling a little as he set the box down. "I'm really hungry," He admits, opening the box and grabbing the remote.

If they weren't gonna talk, he wasn't going to sit in an awkward silence like this any longer. Now they're eating pizza and Kagami can't find himself focusing on the basketball game on TV. "Look, do you wanna talk about it?" Kagami turns to Kylie, surprising her slightly and she puts her slice down onto the box.

"What's there to talk about?" She then asked. "He was a no-show, there's nothing to say."

"So you called me?" Kagami questioned, "Why not someone else?"

"Because I knew you would come." She doesn't miss a beat when answering his questions and the red-head is caught off guard with how confident she sounds with her answer. "Now can we watch something else? I'm a little tired of basketball, seeing as I manage your team."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Kagami shoots back, a frown on his face.

"It means exactly how it sounds." She smiles a little, "Your team sucks."

"I can't believe you said that." Kagami gasps, eyes wide as a hand flies to his chest as if to brace himself. "You're lying."

"I don't lie," Kylie then said, picking up her piece of pizza, "But I can tell you one if you want—Seirin is the best team ever. How about that?"

"That sounds like the truth to me, actually." Kagami responded, handing over the remote to Kylie.

It was a mistake, the boy shook his head as she rested on a channel just long enough for Kagami to get used to it, and then she flipped, doing the same thing for ten more channels. "Kylie!" Kagami crawled around the table, trying to steal the remote from the girl, "Stop channel-flipping!"

"Nothing is on. I'm trying to see all of my options." She held the remote away from him but Kagami wasn't having that. Before long they were fighting over the remote and suddenly they were just rolling around on the floor, laughing and making a mess—Kylie swore the pizza was on the ground somewhere—and then suddenly there's a moment of silence.

Kagami is on top of the Kylie and they've stopped moving. Just there. Staring at each other. And more than anything, Kagami finds himself wanting to get off of her and apologize and whatever else—but he can't. He's just looking down at her and she's looking up at him.

Then the unexpected happens. She leans up and presses her lips against his. It's sudden—clumsy even—and doesn't last more than maybe fifteen or twenty seconds before she pulls away, a spark jolting her back to reality for a moment, but he follows her, pressing his lips against hers and it's longer now, much more passionate and urgent, neither one pulling away this time or even wanting to. Her hands wrap around his neck and his tighten into fists as he gets more comfortable.

And then it hits her. Eyes wide with what she's done, realization hitting her before it does him, and she breaks the kiss, looking up at a slightly dazed Kagami. He's easily pushed away while she mumbles some lame excuse as to why she did what she did and why she's leaving and Kagami can't say anything, still a little in the moment. The door slams but he barely registers it. He doesn't call to her or make an attempt to go after. He just sits there, looking at the door.

Even after she's long gone, it's not until later that evening—when he's lying awake in bed staring at the ceiling with a blank expression that he really gets it.

She kissed him. And he kissed her back. But that's not the worst part. The worst part is that _he may have liked it.  
_

* * *

_**Just a short chapter, but I think it's pretty big, haha! Anyway, the next few should be out soon becasue I'll be ending this story within maybe three or four chapters, so look out for that! And I might be writing a new one, this time starring Kuroko! So, if you want to see that, just give me some feed back, be it a review or a PM, I don't care. Anyway, see ya!**_


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